Hello and welcome to the Zero to Finals podcast.

My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going to be talking to you about coronary artery bypass grafts.

And you can find written notes on this topic at zero definals.com slash CABG

or in the cardiothoracic surgery section of the

zero definals surgery book. So let's get straight into it. A coronary artery bypass graft

which can be shortened to CABG pronounced cabbage is a procedure that involves taking a graft blood vessel from somewhere

else in the body, usually the saffinous vein, and bypassing a blockage in a coronary artery.

Depending on the affected areas, this may involve one, two, 3 or even 4 bypass grafts.

Let's start by talking about the coronary artery anatomy.

The left coronary artery or the LCA becomes the circumflex and the left anterior descending or LAD arteries.

The right coronary artery or the the RCA, curves around the right

side of the heart and under the heart, and supplies the right atrium, right ventricle, inferior

aspect of the left ventricle, and the posterior septal area. The circumflex artery, which is a branch of the left coronary artery,

curves around the top, left and back of the heart and supplies the left atrium and the posterior

aspect of the left ventricle. The left anterior descending, or LAD, which is a branch of the left coronary artery, travels

down the middle of the heart and supplies the anterior aspect of the left ventricle and the anterior

aspect of the septum.

Next let's talk about atherosclerosis.

Athero refers to soft or porridge-like, and sclerosis refers to hardening.

Atherosclerosis is a combination of atheromas, which are fatty deposits in the artery walls,

and sclerosis, which is the process of hardening or stiffening of the blood vessel walls.

Atherosclerosis affects the medium and large arteries, and it's caused by chronic inflammation

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